Methods and devices for distributing content to an electronic device

ABSTRACT

Methods and devices for distributing and receiving content are provided. In one example aspect, a method comprises: receiving a command on a first electronic device to output content at an output device associated with a second electronic device; and in response to receiving the command to output content at the output device associated with the second electronic device: providing content access information from the first electronic device to the second electronic device, and adjusting a security state on the second electronic device.

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/583,694 filed May 1, 2017 which was a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/726,931 filed Jun. 1, 2015 which was acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/635,284 filed Sep. 14, 2012which was a national stage entry of PCT/IB2012/050367 filed Jan. 26,2012, the contents of each of which is herein incorporated by referencein its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to content output and, more particularly,to methods and devices for facilitating the distribution of content toelectronic devices.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices are available in many different shapes and sizes,each of which may be best suited for a specific task or specific set oftasks. For example, laptop computers, smartphones, desktop computers,tablet computers may each have hardware and software which enables themto perform a specific task or a specific set of tasks. Due to hardwareand software constraints, some of those electronic devices may not becapable or may not be best suited for performing a particular task. Forexample, since smart phones are generally designed to be highlyportable, such electronic devices are often equipped with a smalldisplay and may, therefore, not be best suited for displaying video orimages.

In some circumstances, a user may wish to access content but may findthat the electronic device which they are using is poorly suited foraccessing such content. Accordingly, users of electronic devices maysometimes have a poor user experience when accessing content at suchelectronic devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanyingdrawings which show example embodiments of the present application andin which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a content sharing system in accordance withexample embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first electronic device in accordancewith example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a second electronic device in accordancewith example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is flowchart of a method for distributing content to anelectronic device in accordance with example embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for receiving distributed content inaccordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for establishing a trustedrelationship between a first electronic device and a second electronicdevice in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for distributing content to anelectronic device in accordance with example embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

Like reference numerals are used in the drawings to denote like elementsand features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

In one example aspect, the present disclosure describes a methodperformed by a processor. The method includes: receiving a command (orinstruction) on a first electronic device to output content at an outputdevice associated with a second electronic device; and in response toreceiving the command to output content at the output device associatedwith the second electronic device: providing content access informationfrom the first electronic device to the second electronic device andadjusting a security state on the second electronic device.

In another example aspect, the present disclosure describes a firstelectronic device. The first electronic device includes a communicationsubsystem for communicating with a second electronic device and aprocessor. The first electronic device also includes a memory containingprocessor readable instructions for causing the processor to: receive acommand (or instruction) to output content at an output deviceassociated with a second electronic device; and in response to receivingthe command to output content at output device associated with thesecond electronic device: provide content access information from thefirst electronic device to the second electronic device, and adjust asecurity state on the second electronic device.

In yet another example aspect, the present disclosure describes a methodperformed by a processor. The method includes: receiving, at a secondelectronic device, information sent from a first electronic device foroutputting content at a output device associated with the secondelectronic device, the information including content access information;and in response to receiving the information sent from the firstelectronic device: adjusting a security state on the second electronicdevice, and outputting the content from an output device associated withthe second electronic device.

In yet a further example aspect, the present disclosure describes asecond electronic device. The second electronic device includes acommunication subsystem for communicating with a first electronic deviceand an output interface associated with an output device. The secondelectronic device also includes a processor and a memory. The memorycontains processor readable instructions for causing the processor toreceive information for outputting content at an output deviceassociated with the second electronic device, the information beingreceived from a first electronic device, the information includingcontent access information; and, in response to receiving theinformation sent from the electronic device: adjusting a security stateon the second electronic device; and outputting the content from anoutput device associated with the second electronic device.

Other example embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art from a review of the followingdetailed descriptions in conjunction with the drawings.

Example Content Sharing System

Reference will now be made to FIG. 1 which illustrates an examplecontent sharing system 100. The content system 100 is configured toallow a first electronic device 102 to cause a second electronic device104 and/or a third electronic device 106 to output content. That is, auser may interact with the first electronic device 102 to cause contentto be output from the second electronic device 104 and, in at least someexample embodiments, the third electronic device 106.

In the example embodiments illustrated, the first electronic device 102is a mobile communication device 201. More specifically, in the exampleembodiment illustrated, the first electronic device 102 is a smartphone.However, in other example embodiments, the first electronic device 102may take other forms. For example, in some example embodiments, thefirst electronic device 102 may be a tablet computer, a wearablecomputer such as a watch, a notebook, notepad or a laptop computer, adesktop computer, or a television. The first electronic device 102 maytake other forms apart from those specifically listed herein.

Similarly, in the example embodiment illustrated, the second electronicdevice 104 is illustrated as a tablet computer. However, the secondelectronic device 104 may take other forms. By way of example, thesecond electronic device 104 may be a notebook, notepad or a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a wearable computer such as a watch, atelevision, or a mobile communication device.

Similarly, while the third electronic device 106 is illustrated as atelevision in the example embodiment of FIG. 1, the third electronicdevice may also take other forms. For example, the third electronicdevice 106 may be a mobile communication device, a wearable computersuch as a watch, a tablet computer, a notebook, notepad or a laptopcomputer or desktop computer, or another electronic device notspecifically listed herein.

The first electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 arecommunicatively connected to one another. That is, the first electronicdevice 102 and the second electronic device 104 are each equipped withone or more communication subsystems which allow these electronicdevices to communicate with one another. In the example embodiment ofFIG. 1, the first electronic device 102 and the second electronic device104 communicate via a network 124 similarly, the first electronic device102 is illustrated as communicating with the third electronic device 106via the network 124. The network 124 may include a private network,and/or a public network, such as the Internet. For example, in someexample embodiments, the first electronic device 102 and/or the secondelectronic device 104 are configured for Wi-Fi communications withrespective network gateways.

In other example embodiments, the network 124 may not be utilized.Instead, the first electronic device 102 may connect to the secondelectronic device 104 and, in some example embodiments, the thirdelectronic device 106 via a more direct connection. For example, in someexample embodiments, the first electronic device 102 may connectdirectly to the second electronic device 104 via a Wi-Fi connection.Similarly, in at least some example embodiments, the first electronicdevice 102 may connect to the second electronic device 104 via aBluetooth™ connection. Similarly, in at least some example embodiments,the first electronic device 102 may connect to the second electronicdevice 104 via a near field communication (NFC) connection. Accordingly,in at least some example embodiments, the first electronic device 102may be configured to communicate with the second electronic device 104via other short range communication technology. That is, a short rangeconnection may be established between the first electronic device 102and the second electronic device 104.

Accordingly, after a connection is established between the firstelectronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104, the firstelectronic device 102 may cause content to be output from an outputdevice, such as a display, associated with the second electronic device104. For example, a user receiving an email on the first electronicdevice 102 may command the first electronic device 102 to cause thesecond electronic device 104 to open the email, or an attachment in thatemail. That is, rather than simply displaying content at a displayassociated with the first electronic device 102, a user may be permittedto display the content or otherwise output the content using the secondelectronic device 104 and its associated output device.

As will be described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 4,in at least some example embodiments, when the first electronic device102 instructs the second electronic device 104 to output content at adisplay on the second electronic device 104, a security state on thesecond electronic device 104 may automatically be adjusted. For example,if the second electronic device 104 is currently in a locked state inwhich one or more features of the second electronic device 104 are notavailable without entry of a password or other authenticationinformation, then the second electronic device 104 may be automaticallyunlocked. More particularly, in at least some example embodiments, ifthe first electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104have a pre-existing trusted relationship in which a user of the secondelectronic device 104 has indicated that the first electronic device 102should be trusted, then, in response to receiving a command on the firstelectronic device 102 to output content at an output device associatedwith the second electronic device 104, the content will be output fromthe second electronic device 104 and, if the second electronic device104 is in a higher level security state, such as a device locked state,then the second electronic device 104 may be placed in a lower levelsecurity state, such as a device unlocked state.

Example First Electronic Device

An overview having been provided, reference will now be made to FIG. 2,which illustrates an example first electronic device 102. In theillustrated example embodiment, the first electronic device 102 is amobile communication device 201. In at least some example embodiments,the mobile communication device 201 is a two-way communication devicehaving data and possibly voice communication capabilities, and thecapability to communicate with other computer systems; for example, viathe Internet. Depending on the functionality provided by the firstelectronic device 102, in various example embodiments the firstelectronic device 102 may be a multi-mode communication deviceconfigured for both data and voice communication, a mobile telephonesuch as a smartphone, a tablet computer such as a slate computer, awearable computer such as a watch, a PDA (personal digital assistant), acomputer system such as a desktop, netbook, laptop, or notebook computersystem, or a television.

A smartphone is a mobile phone which offers more advance computingcapability than a basic non-smart cellular phone. For example, asmartphone may have the ability to run third party applications whichare stored on the smartphone.

A tablet computer (which may also be referred to as a tablet) is anelectronic device which is generally larger than a mobile phone (such asa smartphone) or personal digital assistant. Many mobile phones orpersonal digital assistants are designed to be pocket sized. That is,mobile phones or personal digital assistants are generally small enoughto be carried by a person easily, often in a shirt or pant pocket whiletablet computers are larger and may not fit within pant pockets. Forexample, many tablet computers have a height which is seven inches (7″)or more. In some example embodiments, the tablet computer may be a slatecomputer. A slate computer is a tablet computer which does not include adedicated keyboard. A slate computer may allow for text input throughthe use of a virtual keyboard or an external keyboard which connects tothe slate computer via a wired or wireless connection.

In other example embodiments, the first electronic device 102 may be ofa type not specifically listed above.

The mobile communication device 201 of FIG. 2 includes a housing (notshown) which houses components of the mobile communication device 201.Internal components of the mobile communication device 201 may beconstructed on a printed circuit board (PCB). The mobile communicationdevice 201 includes a controller including at least one processor 240(such as a microprocessor) which controls the overall operation of themobile communication device 201. The processor 240 interacts with devicesubsystems such as a wireless communication subsystem 211 for exchangingradio frequency signals with a wireless network 101 to performcommunication functions. The processor 240 interacts with additionaldevice subsystems including one or more input interfaces 206 (such as akeyboard, one or more control buttons, one or more microphones 258,and/or a touch-sensitive overlay associated with a touchscreen display),flash memory 244, random access memory (RAM) 246, read only memory (ROM)248, auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystems 250, a data port 252 (whichmay be a serial data port, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) dataport), one or more output interfaces 205 (such as a display 204 (whichmay be a liquid crystal display (LCD)), one or more speakers 256, orother output interfaces 205), a short-range communication subsystem 262,and other device subsystems generally designated as 264. Some of thesubsystems shown in FIG. 2 perform communication-related functions,whereas other subsystems may provide “resident” or on-device functions.

The mobile communication device 201 may include a touchscreen display insome example embodiments. The touchscreen display may be constructedusing a touch-sensitive input surface connected to an electroniccontroller. The touch-sensitive input surface overlays the display 204and may be referred to as a touch-sensitive overlay. The touch-sensitiveoverlay and the electronic controller provide a touch-sensitive inputinterface 206 and the processor 240 interacts with the touch-sensitiveoverlay via the electronic controller. That is, the touchscreen displayacts as both an input interface 206 and an output interface 205.

The communication subsystem 211 includes a receiver 214, a transmitter216, and associated components, such as one or more antenna elements 218and 221, local oscillators (LOs) 213, and a processing module such as adigital signal processor (DSP) 215. The antenna elements 218 and 221 maybe embedded or internal to the mobile communication device 201 and asingle antenna may be shared by both receiver 214 and transmitter 216,as is known in the art. The particular design of the wirelesscommunication subsystem 211 depends on the wireless network 101 in whichthe mobile communication device 201 is intended to operate.

The mobile communication device 201 may communicate with any one of aplurality of fixed transceiver base stations of the wireless network 101within its geographic coverage area. The mobile communication device 201may send and receive communication signals over the wireless network 101after the required network registration or activation procedures havebeen completed. Signals received by the antenna 218 through the wirelessnetwork 101 are input to the receiver 214, which may perform such commonreceiver functions as signal amplification, frequency down conversion,filtering, channel selection, etc., as well as analog-to-digital (AID)conversion. AID conversion of a received signal allows more complexcommunication functions such as demodulation and decoding to beperformed in the DSP 215. In a similar manner, signals to be transmittedare processed, including modulation and encoding, for example, by theDSP 215. These DSP-processed signals are input to the transmitter 216for digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion, frequency up conversion,filtering, amplification, and transmission to the wireless network 101via the antenna 221. The DSP 215 not only processes communicationsignals, but may also provide for receiver and transmitter control. Forexample, the gains applied to communication signals in the receiver 214and the transmitter 216 may be adaptively controlled through automaticgain control algorithms implemented in the DSP 215.

In some example embodiments, the auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystems250 may include an external communication link or interface, forexample, an Ethernet connection. The mobile communication device 201 mayinclude other wireless communication interfaces for communicating withother types of wireless networks; for example, a wireless network suchas an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) network. Theauxiliary I/O subsystems 250 may include a pointing or navigational tool(input device) such as a clickable trackball or scroll wheel orthumbwheel, or a vibrator for providing vibratory notifications inresponse to various events on the mobile communication device 201 suchas receipt of an electronic message or incoming phone call, or for otherpurposes such as haptic feedback (touch feedback).

In some example embodiments, the mobile communication device 201 alsoincludes a removable memory module 230 (typically including flashmemory) and a memory module interface 232. Network access may beassociated with a subscriber or user of the mobile communication device201 via the memory module 230, which may be a Subscriber Identity Module(SIM) card for use in a GSM network or other type of memory module foruse in the relevant wireless network type. The memory module 230 may beinserted in or connected to the memory module interface 232 of themobile communication device 201.

The mobile communication device 201 may store data 227 in an erasablepersistent memory, which in one example embodiment is the flash memory244. In various example embodiments, the data 227 may include servicedata having information required by the mobile communication device 201to establish and maintain communication with the wireless network 101.The data 227 may also include user application data such as emailmessages, address book and contact information, calendar and scheduleinformation, notepad documents, image files, and other commonly storeduser information stored on the mobile communication device 201 by itsuser, and other data. The data 227 may also include content accessinformation 273, trusted relationship information 275 and/orauthorization information 277.

As will be discussed in greater detail below, the content accessinformation 273 may be information which may be used to access specificcontent. In some example embodiments, the content access information 273may be a reference, such as a location, address or other identifier,which allows an electronic device to retrieve the content. By way ofexample, in at least some embodiments, the content access information273 may be a link or pointer, such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)which specifies a location at which content may be retrieved. In atleast some embodiments, the content may be a file, such as an audiofile, video file, text file, document and/or multimedia file.

In at least some example embodiments, the data 227 may include content.That is, in at least some embodiments, the content may be stored on thememory of the first electronic device 102. In at least some exampleembodiments, the content may be defined by the content accessinformation 273. That is, the content may be included in the contentaccess information 273.

The trusted relationship information 275 may be information which allowsthe first electronic device 102 to connect to another electronic device,such as the second electronic device 104 (of FIG. 1). That is, thetrusted relationship information may identify another electronic devicewhich has a trusted relationship with the first electronic device 102.The trusted relationship information may be used to allow the firstelectronic device 102 to connect to the other electronic device 102. Inat least some embodiments, the trusted relationship information 275 maybe used by the first electronic device 102 to allow the first electronicdevice 102 to cause the other electronic device (which may be a secondelectronic device 104 (of FIG. 1)) to transition to a lower levelsecurity state.

In at least some example embodiments, the data 227 may includeauthorization information 277. The authorization information 277 may beprivate information which is known, available and/or interpretable bythe first electronic device and/or the second electronic device butwhich is not publicly available (i.e. available to other non-trustedelectronic devices). In at least some example embodiments, theauthorization information may be used by the first electronic device 102to permit the first electronic device 102 to cause the second electronicdevice 104 to unlock or otherwise transition to a lower level securitymode. For example, when the first electronic device 102 wishes to unlockthe second electronic device 104, it may provide the authorizationinformation 277 to the second electronic device 104 to demonstrate tothe second electronic device 104 that the first electronic device 102has authority to unlock the second electronic device 104. The secondelectronic device 104 may authenticate the received authorizationinformation 277 before unlocking itself.

The data 227 stored in the persistent memory (e.g. flash memory 244) ofthe mobile communication device 201 may be organized, at leastpartially, into a number of databases or data stores each containingdata items of the same data type or associated with the sameapplication. For example, email messages, contact records, and taskitems may be stored in individual databases within the mobilecommunication device 201 memory.

The data port 252 may be used for synchronization with a user's hostcomputer system. The data port 252 enables a user to set preferencesthrough an external device or software application and extends thecapabilities of the mobile communication device 201 by providing forinformation or software downloads to the mobile communication device 201other than through the wireless network 101. The alternate download pathmay for example, be used to load an encryption key onto the mobilecommunication device 201 through a direct, reliable and trustedconnection to thereby provide secure device communication.

In some example embodiments, the mobile communication device 201 isprovided with a service routing application programming interface (API)which provides an application with the ability to route traffic througha serial data (i.e., USB) or Bluetooth® (Bluetooth® is a registeredtrademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.) connection to the host computer systemusing standard connectivity protocols. When a user connects their mobilecommunication device 201 to the host computer system via a USB cable orBluetooth® connection, traffic that was destined for the wirelessnetwork 101 is automatically routed to the mobile communication device201 using the USB cable or Bluetooth® connection. Similarly, any trafficdestined for the wireless network 101 is automatically sent over the USBcable Bluetooth® connection to the host computer for processing.

The mobile communication device 201 also includes a battery 238 as apower source, which is typically one or more rechargeable batteries thatmay be charged, for example, through charging circuitry coupled to abattery interface 236 such as the serial data port 252. The battery 238provides electrical power to at least some of the electrical circuitryin the mobile communication device 201, and the battery interface 236provides a mechanical and electrical connection for the battery 238. Thebattery interface 236 is coupled to a regulator (not shown) whichprovides power V+ to the circuitry of the mobile communication device201.

The short-range communication subsystem 262 is an additional optionalcomponent which provides for communication between the mobilecommunication device 201 and different systems or devices, which neednot necessarily be similar devices. For example, the short-rangecommunication subsystem 262 may include an infrared device andassociated circuits and components, or a wireless bus protocol compliantcommunication mechanism such as a Bluetooth® communication module toprovide for communication with similarly-enabled systems and devices.

A predetermined set of applications that control basic deviceoperations, including data and possibly voice communication applicationsmay be installed on the mobile communication device 201 during or aftermanufacture. Additional applications and/or upgrades to an operatingsystem 222 or software applications 224 may also be loaded onto themobile communication device 201 through the wireless network 101, theauxiliary I/O subsystem 250, the data port 252, the short-rangecommunication subsystem 262, or other suitable device subsystems 264.The downloaded programs or code modules may be permanently installed;for example, written into the program memory (e.g. the flash memory244), or written into and executed from the RAM 246 for execution by theprocessor 240 at runtime.

In some example embodiments, the mobile communication device 201 mayprovide two principal modes of communication: a data communication modeand a voice communication mode. In the data communication mode, areceived data signal such as a text message, an email message, orwebpage download will be processed by the communication subsystem 211and input to the processor 240 for further processing. For example, adownloaded webpage may be further processed by a web browser or an emailmessage may be processed by the email messaging application and outputto the display 204. A user of the mobile communication device 201 mayalso compose data items, such as email messages; for example, using aninput interface 206 in conjunction with the display 204. These composeditems may be transmitted through the communication subsystem 211 overthe wireless network 101.

In the voice communication mode, the mobile communication device 201provides telephony functions and may operate as a typical cellularphone. The overall operation is similar to the data communication mode,except that the received signals would be output to the speaker 256 andsignals for transmission would be generated by a transducer such as themicrophone 258. The telephony functions are provided by a combination ofsoftware/firmware (i.e., a voice communication module) and hardware(i.e., the microphone 258, the speaker 256 and input devices).Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as a voice messagerecording subsystem, may also be implemented on the mobile communicationdevice 201. Although voice or audio signal output may be accomplishedprimarily through the speaker 256, the display 204 may also be used toprovide an indication of the identity of a calling party, duration of avoice call, or other voice call related information.

The processor 240 operates under stored program control and executessoftware modules 220 stored in memory such as persistent memory; forexample, in the flash memory 244. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the softwaremodules 220 may include operating system software 222 and one or moreadditional applications 224 or modules such as, for example, a contentsharing module 297 and/or a pairing module 298. In the exampleembodiment of FIG. 2, the content sharing module 297 and pairing module298 are illustrated as being implemented as separate stand-aloneapplications 224, but in other example embodiments, one or more of thesemodules could be implemented as part of the operating system 222 oranother application 224. Furthermore, the functions of the pairingmodule 298 and the content sharing module 297 could be provided by asingle module.

The content sharing module 297 may be configured to allow the firstelectronic device 102 (which may be the mobile communication device 201)to cause content to be output from an output device associated withanother electronic device (e.g. a second electronic device). That is,the content sharing module may be configured to share content withanother electronic device. In at least some example embodiments, thecontent sharing module 297 may do so by sending the content accessinformation 273 to the other electronic device.

In at least some example embodiments, when sharing such content withanother electronic device, the content sharing module 297 may cause thatother electronic device to transition to a lower level security mode.For example, if the other electronic device is operating in a devicelocked state in which one or more functions or features of thatelectronic device are locked, then the other electronic device may beautomatically unlocked by the content sharing module 297. Functions andfeatures of the content sharing module will be discussed in greaterdetail below with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 7.

The pairing module 298 may be configured to allow the first electronicdevice 102 to establish a trusted relationship with another electronicdevice, such as the second electronic device 104. More particularly, thepairing module 298 may perform a pairing routine during which a secureconnection with another electronic device is established. During thepairing routine, the trusted relationship information 275 may be storedto memory of the first electronic device 102. The trusted relationshipinformation 275 may include information which identifies the otherelectronic device. The trusted relationship information 275 may later beused to allow the first electronic device 102 to connect to the secondelectronic device 104 when the first electronic device 102 and thesecond electronic device 104 are in wireless communication range of oneanother. Functions and features of the pairing module 298 will bediscussed in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 6.

The mobile communication device 201 may include a range of additionalsoftware applications 224, including, for example, a notepadapplication, voice communication (i.e. telephony) application, mappingapplication, a media player application, or any combination thereof.Each of the software applications 224 may include layout informationdefining the placement of particular fields and graphic elements (e.g.text fields, input fields, icons, etc.) in the user interface (i.e. thedisplay 204) according to the application.

The software modules 220 or parts thereof may be temporarily loaded intovolatile memory such as the RAM 246. The RAM 246 is used for storingruntime data variables and other types of data or information. Althoughspecific functions are described for various types of memory, this ismerely one example, and a different assignment of functions to types ofmemory could also be used.

Example Second Electronic Device

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which shows in block diagram for anexample second electronic device 104. The second electronic device 104is configured to accept a command (or instruction), from the firstelectronic device 102 (of FIGS. 1 to 2), to output content at an outputdevice 310 associated with the second electronic device 104. In responseto receiving such a command, the second electronic device 104 may outputthe content from the output device 310 associated with the secondelectronic device 104 and may also adjust security state on the secondelectronic device 104.

The second electronic device 104 may be of a variety of different types.For example, in some example embodiments, the second electronic device104 is a tablet computer. In other example embodiments, the secondelectronic device 104 is a notebook, laptop, or netbook style computer.In yet further example embodiments, the second electronic device 104 isa mobile communication device 201 (of FIG. 2), such as a cellular phone,smartphone or other style mobile communication device. For example, insome example embodiments, the second electronic device 104 may be amobile communication device 201 of the type described above withreference to FIG. 2. In yet further example embodiments, the secondelectronic device 104 may be a wearable computer, such as a watch. Insome example embodiments, the second electronic device 104 may be atelevision. The second electronic device 104 may be of other types notspecifically listed herein.

The second electronic device 104 includes a controller, including one ormore processor 340 which controls the overall operation of the secondelectronic device 104. The second electronic device 104 may include amemory 350 which is communicatively connected to the processor 340. Thememory 350 may be configured to provide data stored in the memory 350 tothe processor 340. For example, the memory 350 may include processorreadable instructions for causing the processor 340 to perform a methodsuch as, for example, one or more of the methods described below withreference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

While the memory 350 is illustrated as a single component, it willtypically include multiple memory components of various types. Forexample, the memory 350 may include random access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD),flash memory, or other types of memory. It will be appreciated that eachof these various types of memory will be best suited for differentpurposes and applications.

The processor 340 may operate under stored program control and mayexecute software modules 358 stored on the memory 350. The softwaremodules 358 may, in at least some example embodiments, included apairing module 398. The pairing module 398 may be configured to allowthe second electronic device 104 to establish a trusted relationshipwith the first electronic device 102. By way of example, in at leastsome example embodiments, the pairing module 398 is a Bluetooth™ pairingmodule, which executes a Bluetooth pairing algorithm. In at least someexample embodiments, during the pairing algorithm performed by thepairing module 398, user authentication may be required at the secondelectronic device 104 and, in at least some example embodiments, at thefirst electronic device 102. That is, during the pairing algorithm whichis performed by the pairing module 398, a user may be required to verifyor confirm that a trusted relationship should be created between thefirst electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104.

The pairing module 398 of the second electronic device 104 may,therefore, work together with a corresponding pairing module 298 (ofFIG. 2) of the first electronic device 102. For example, in some exampleembodiments, one or more of the pairing modules 298, 398 of the firstelectronic device 102 and/or the second electronic device 104 may beconfigured to cause a display associated with that electronic device102, 104 to display a pass code or password. In order to complete thepairing process, input of that pass code or password may be required onone or both of the first electronic device 102 or the second electronicdevice 104.

In at least some example embodiments, during the pairing process, thepairing module 398 may create and store trusted relationship information375 in memory 350 of the second electronic device 104. The trustedrelationship information 375 may identify the first electronic device102 and may be used to allow the second electronic device 104 toremember that the first electronic device 102 is trusted by the secondelectronic device 104. That is, the trusted relationship information 375may be used by the second electronic device 104 so that the secondelectronic device 104 is subsequently aware that a trusted relationshipexists with the first electronic device 102. The storage of the trustedrelationship information 375 may, in at least some example embodiments,allow the electronic devices 102, 104 to subsequently connect to oneanother. For example, in some example embodiments, after the trustedrelationship is established through the pairing modules 398, 298 (ofFIGS. 1 and 2), when the electronic devices 102, 104 are within range tocommunicate over a short range connection, such as a Bluetoothconnection, the devices can automatically connect to one another toallow those devices to send data to and/or receive data from oneanother. That is, once a trusted relationship is established between thefirst electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 thesaved trusted relationship information 375 allows those electronicdevices to be automatically connected to one another at some time in thefuture.

An example method of establishing a trust relationship between the firstelectronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 will bediscussed in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 6. In at leastsome example embodiments, the pairing module 398 of the secondelectronic device 104 may cooperate with the pairing module 298 of thefirst electronic device 102 in order to perform the method 600 of FIG.6. That is, in at least some example embodiments, the pairing modules298 (of FIG. 2), 398 may contain processor readable instructions which,when executed by the processor 240, 340 of the respective devices, causethat processor 240, 340 to perform the method 600 of FIG. 6.

The software modules 358 may, in at least some example embodiments,include a security module 399. The security module 399 may, for example,be configured to control security states on the second electronic device104. That is, the security module 399 may permit the second electronicdevice 104 to operate in multiple security states. For example, thesecurity module 399 may permit the second electronic device 104 toselectively operate in a higher level security state and also in arelatively lower level security state.

In the higher level security state, one or more features of the secondelectronic device 104 may be disabled. That is, one or more featureswhich are available on the second electronic device 104 when the secondelectronic device 104 is in the lower level security state may beunavailable when the second electronic device 104 is in the higher levelsecurity state. In some example embodiments, the higher level securitystate may be a device locked state. In some example embodiments, duringthe device locked state, many of the features of the second electronicdevice 104 may be disabled. For example, the second electronic device104 may be prohibited from accessing one or more applications or data onthe second electronic device 104 when the second electronic device 104is in the device locked state. In example embodiment in which the higherlevel security state is a device locked state, the lower level securitystate may be a device unlocked state. In the device unlocked state,features which were locked from use in the device locked state may beavailable. For example, a user may be permitted to access applicationsor data which were unavailable during the device locked state.

The security module 399 may, in response to one or more predefinedtrigger conditions, adjust the security state on the second electronicdevice 104. For example, in some example embodiments, when the secondelectronic device 104 is operating in the higher level security statesuch as the device locked state, authentication information may be inputinto the second electronic device 104 to transition the secondelectronic device 104 from a higher level security state to a lowerlevel security state. That is, the security module 399 may provide agraphical user interface or another interface which allows a user of thesecond electronic device 104 to input authentication information such asa user name, password, pass code, or other authentication information.In response to receiving such information, the security module 399 mayauthenticate the received information in order to ensure that the useris authorized to transition the second electronic device 104 to a lowerlevel security state, such as a device unlocked state. For example, thesecond electronic device 104 may compare received authenticationinformation to other authentication information (not shown) which may bestored in memory in a secure fashion. If the received authenticationinformation matches the authentication information stored in memory,then the security module 399 may adjust the security state of the secondelectronic device 104. More particularly, the security module 399 maytransition the second electronic device 104 to a lower level securitystate, such as a device unlocked state.

The software modules 358 may, in at least some example embodiments,include a content sharing module 397. The content sharing module 397 maybe configured to receive information, such as commands, from trustedelectronic devices. For example, the content sharing module 397 may beconfigured to receive information from the first electronic device 102.More particularly, the content sharing module 397 of the secondelectronic device 104 may be configured to receive information, sentfrom a first electronic device 102, for outputting content at the secondelectronic device 104. In at least some example embodiments, thereceived information may be an instruction which instructs the secondelectronic device 104 to output specified content to an output device310 associated with that second electronic device 104. In some exampleembodiments, the information received from the first electronic device102 may include content access information 273 (of FIG. 2). The contentaccess information 273 may, for example, be a reference to the contentwhich the first electronic device 102 would like the second electronicdevice 104 to output. For example, the reference may be a uniformresource locator (URL) or another link, pointer, or identifier whichinforms the content sharing module 397 of the specific content which isto be displayed. In response to receiving such a reference, the contentsharing module 397 may retrieve the specified content using thereference and may automatically output the content to an output device310 associated with the second electronic device 104. For example, insome example embodiments, the content may be displayed on a displayassociated with the second electronic device 104.

In some example embodiments, rather than simply sending a reference(such as a link, pointer, or other identifier) to the content, the firstelectronic device 102 may send the second electronic device 104 contentaccess information 273 (of FIG. 2) which includes the content itself.That is, the first electronic device 102 may transmit content to thesecond electronic device 104 and the content may be received at thesecond electronic device 104. In response to receiving the content, thecontent sharing module 397 may cause the received content to be outputto an output device 310 associated with the second electronic device104. The content sharing module 397 will be described in greater detailbelow with reference to FIG. 5.

The content in which the first electronic device 102 effectivelyinstructs the second electronic device 104 to display, play, access, orotherwise output may, for example, be an electronic message, a webpage,an electronic document containing text, audio, video, an image, or anemail attachment. For example, in some example embodiments the contentmay be an attachment from an email, the body or content of an email, awebpage which is available through the internet, a music file, a videofile such as a movie, a portable document format (PDF) file, a MicrosoftWord™ file or another word processing file, an application such as agame, or other types of content not specifically listed herein. In atleast some example embodiments, the content may be referred to asdigital content.

In at least some example embodiments, in order to output the content atthe output device 310, the second electronic device 104 may beconfigured to load the content within an associated application which isconfigured for handling such content. That is, in at least some exampleembodiments, in response to receiving content access information 273(FIG. 2) which effectively instructs the second electronic device 104 tooutput specified content, the second electronic device 104 mayautomatically launch an application which is configured for outputtingsuch content and may automatically load the specified content in thatapplication. For example, where the content is a video, a video playerapplication may be launched on the second electronic device 104 and thevideo may be loaded into the video player application.

In at least some example embodiments, when a first electronic device102, which has a trusted relationship with the second electronic device104, instructs the second electronic device 104 to output specifiedcontent at an output device 310 associated with the second electronicdevice 104, then the second electronic device 104 may automaticallyadjust a security state. That is, when the first electronic device 102instructs or commands the second electronic device 104 to output content(for example, when the first electronic device 102 sends the secondelectronic device 104 content access information 273 (of FIG. 2) whicheffectively instructs the second electronic device 104 to output thespecified content), if the second electronic device 104 is currentlyoperating in a higher level security state such as a device lockedstate, it may automatically transition to a lower level security state,such as a device unlocked state. That is, the fact that a user of atrusted device (i.e. the first electronic device 102) wishes to use theoutput resources of the second electronic device 104 may be treated asimplicit authorization to adjust a security state on the electronicdevice; for example, by unlocking the second electronic device 104.

Accordingly, when a user commands the first electronic device 102 tooutput content at the second electronic device 104, if the secondelectronic device 104 is in a higher level security state, it isautomatically transitioned to a lower level security state. That is, inat least some example embodiments, a user is not required to input theirauthentication information on either the first electronic device 102 orthe second electronic device 104 to unlock the second electronic device104. A command which is received at an unlocked first electronic device102 and which instructs the first electronic device 102 to cause asecond electronic device 104 to output content may effectively betreated as a command to unlock the second electronic device 104 (i.e. totransition the second electronic device 104 to a lower level securitystate) if the first electronic device 102 and the second electronicdevice 104 have a pre-existing trusted relationship.

Accordingly, in at least some example embodiments, the content sharingmodule 397 and/or the security module 399 may cause the secondelectronic device 104 to transition to a lower level security state inresponse to receiving an instruction to output content from a firstelectronic device 102 which has a trusted relationship with the secondelectronic device 104.

In some example embodiments, in order to securely unlock the secondelectronic device 104 by command from the first electronic device 102,the first electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 mayeach store authorization information 277 (of FIG. 2), 377. In at leastsome example embodiments, the authorization information 377 may be thesame authentication information which is used by the security module 399as a password or pass code and which may be input by a user of thesecond electronic device 104 directly into the second electronic device104 to unlock the second electronic device 104. In some exampleembodiments, the authorization information 377 may be created during apairing process, which is performed by the pairing module 398. That is,the authorization information 377 may be part of the trustedrelationship information 375 which is created when the devices arepaired with one another.

In some example embodiments, the first electronic device 102 mayeffectively adjust the security state on the second electronic device104 by sending the authorization information from the first electronicdevice 102 to the second electronic device 104. The authorizationinformation may be secure information for authorizing the secondelectronic device 104 to adjust its security state. The secondelectronic device 104 may, upon receiving the authorization information277, compare the received authorization information to its ownauthorization information 377 which is stored in memory 350. If theauthorization information which is received from the first electronicdevice 102 corresponds to the authorization information which isincluded in the memory 350 then the second electronic device 104 mayadjust the security state of the second electronic device 104 if thesecond electronic device 104 is currently operating in the higher levelsecurity state. That is, if this criterion is met, then the secondelectronic device 104 may transition to the lower level security state(e.g. the device unlocked state).

Functions and features of the content sharing module 297 will bediscussed in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 5.

The memory 350 may also store other data not specifically referred toherein.

The second electronic device 104 may include one or more outputinterfaces 305 which are configured to interact with one or more outputdevices 310. The output interface 305 may be controlled by the processor340. In some example embodiments, one or more of the output devices 310of the second electronic device 104 may be a display. For example, thedisplay may, in at least some example embodiments, be a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD). In other example embodiments, the display may be a lightemitting diode (LED) display. In at least some example embodiments, thedisplay may be a touch screen display which is configured to displaycontent and also to receive input via a touch sensitive overlay. Othertypes of displays may be used in other example embodiments. Accordingly,in example embodiments in which the output devices 310 include adisplay, one or more of the output interfaces 305 of the secondelectronic device 104 may be a display interface. By way of example, thedisplay interface may be a video card. The display interface may controloutput to the display. For example, the display interface may createvideo signals which are capable of being processed by the display.

In at least some example embodiments, the second electronic device 104may include an audio based output interface 305 which is connected to anaudio based output device 310, such as a speaker. That is, in at leastsome example embodiments, the second electronic device 104 may beequipped to output audio through one or more speakers. Other types ofoutput devices 310 and output interfaces 305 may be utilized in otherexample embodiments.

The second electronic device 104 may include one or more communicationsubsystems 320 for communicating with other systems, servers, orelectronic devices. For example, a communication subsystem 320 may beprovided on the second electronic device 104 to allow the secondelectronic device 104 to communicate with the first electronic device102. As described above with reference to FIG. 1, in some exampleembodiments, the second electronic device 104 may communicate with thefirst electronic device 102 via a network 124 (of FIG. 1). In otherexample embodiments, the communication subsystem 320 may allow thesecond electronic device 104 to communicate more directly with the firstelectronic device 102. That is, in at least some example embodiments,the first electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 maycommunicate with one another through a direct connection such as adirect wireless connection. In at least some example embodiments, thecommunication subsystem 320 may be a wireless communication interfacesuch as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or may be a communication subsystem 320 whichis configured to communicate via wired communications, such as Ethernetcommunications. The communication subsystem 320 may take other formsapart from those specifically listed herein.

The second electronic device 104 may include other features, components,or subsystems apart from those specifically discussed herein. By way ofexample, the second electronic device 104 will include a power subsystemwhich interfaces with a power source for providing electrical power tothe second electronic device 104 and its components. By way of furtherexample, the second electronic device 104 may include one or more inputdevices. The input devices may include a navigational input deviceand/or an alpha numeric input device. By way of further example theinput devices may include a mouse, a track pad, a track ball, a touchscreen overlay, or another input device not specifically listed herein.In at least some example embodiments, the input device may be used forthe input of authentication information which may be used by thesecurity module 399 to transition the second electronic device 104 froma higher level security state (e.g. a device locked state) to a lowerlevel security state (e.g. a device unlocked state). For example, theinput device may be used to input a password to unlock a locked secondelectronic device 104.

The software modules 358 may be logically or physically organized in amanner that is different than the manner illustrated in FIG. 3. By wayof example, the features described herein with reference to the contentsharing module 397, the pairing module 398, and/or the security module399 may be divided or combined into a greater number or lesser number ofsoftware modules. For example, functions which are described withreference to a single software application or module may be provided bya plurality of software applications or modules. Similarly, functionswhich are described with reference to multiple software applications ormodules may be provided by a single software application or module. Insome example embodiments, the features of one or more of the contentsharing module 397, the pairing module 398, or the security module 399may be provided by an operating system which controls operations on thesecond electronic device 104. Similarly, in at least some exampleembodiments, the functions of two or more of these modules may becombined into a single module. Thus, the software modules 358 describedwith reference to FIG. 3 represent one possible assignment of featuresto software modules. However, such features may be organized in otherways in other example embodiments.

Furthermore, the second electronic device 104 may include other softwareapplications or modules which provide features which are notspecifically discussed herein. For example, the second electronic device104 may include operating system software which controls the overalloperation of the second electronic device 104.

Example Method for Distributing Content to an Electronic Device

Reference will now be made to FIG. 4 which illustrates an example method400 for distributing content to a second electronic device 104 from afirst electronic device 102. The method 400 includes features which maybe provided by a first electronic device 102, such as the mobilecommunication device 201 of FIG. 2. More particularly, one or moreapplications or modules associated with the first electronic device 102,such as the content sharing module 297 (of FIG. 2), may containprocessor readable instructions for causing a processor associated withthe first electronic device 102 to perform the method 400 of FIG. 4.That is, in at least some example embodiments, the first electronicdevice 102 is configured to perform the method 400 of FIG. 4.

In at least some example embodiments, one or more of the features of themethod 400 of FIG. 4 may be provided, in whole or in part, by anothersystem, software application, module, or device apart from thosespecifically listed above. For example, in at least some exampleembodiments, one or more of the features of the method 400 may beperformed, at least in part, by the second electronic device 104 (ofFIG. 3).

At 402, a command may be received on the first electronic device 102. Inat least some example embodiments, the command may be received via oneor more input interfaces 206 (of FIG. 2). For example, the command maybe received via a keyboard, control button, microphone, touch sensitiveoverlay, or another input interface. In at least some exampleembodiments, the command may be a command to output content at an outputdevice 310 (of FIG. 3) associated with a second electronic device 104(of FIG. 3).

At 404, the first electronic device 102 determines whether the commandis a command to output content at an output device 310 (of FIG. 3)associated with the second electronic device 104. For example, the firstelectronic device 102 determines whether the received input correspondsto a predetermined type of input. By way of example, in some exampleembodiments a command to output content at an output device 310associated with the second electronic device 104 may be input into thefirst electronic device 102 by selecting a specific selectable interfaceelement, such as an icon, or button, which is displayed on a display ofthe first electronic device 102. That is, a user may use an inputinterface to select such an interface element and to command the firstelectronic device 102 to output content at an output device 310associated with the second electronic device 104.

In other example embodiments, the input which is associated with acommand to output content at an output device associated with the secondelectronic device 104 may be an input of another type. For example, inat least some example embodiments, the input may correspond to apredetermined gesture. The gesture-based input may, for example, beinput onto a touch screen display associated with the first electronicdevice 102. In other example embodiments, the gesture-based input may besensed by another sensor associated with the first electronic device102. For example, in some example embodiments the predetermined gesturemay require movement of the first electronic device 102. For example, amovement sensor on the first electronic device 102, such as anaccelerometer, may be used to detect movement of the first electronicdevice 102.

In at least some example embodiments, movement of the first electronicdevice 102 in a predetermined pattern may be interpreted by the firstelectronic device 102 as a command to output content at an output deviceassociated with the second electronic device 104. That is, at 404 ofFIG. 4, the first electronic device 102 may determine whether movementof the first electronic device 102 corresponds to movement which isassociated with a command to output content at an output deviceassociated with the second electronic device 104.

In other example embodiments, the command to output content at an outputdevice associated with the second electronic device 104 may be receivedat the first electronic device 102 via a near field communication (NFC)sensor. For example, in some example embodiments, if a near fieldcommunication sensor on the first electronic device 102 and a near fieldcommunication sensor on the second electronic device 104 are placed within close proximity to one another, then the first electronic device 102may determine that a command to output content at an output deviceassociated with the second electronic device 104 has been received atthe first electronic device 102.

If, at 404, the first electronic device 102 determines that the commandwhich was received at the first electronic device 102 at 402 was not acommand to output content at an output device 310 associated with thesecond electronic device 104, then at 406, the first electronic device102 may perform a function which is associated with the receivedcommand.

If, however, the first electronic device 102 determines, at 404, that acommand to output content at an output device associated with a secondelectronic device 104 was received at 402, then at 408 the firstelectronic device 102 may provide content access information to thesecond electronic device 104. That is, at 408, the first electronicdevice 102 may effectively instruct the second electronic device 104 tooutput the content at an output device 310 (of FIG. 3) associated withthe second electronic device 104. The content access information, whichis sent from the first electronic device 102 to the second electronicdevice 104 at 408 informs the second electronic device 104 of thespecific content which is to be output from the second electronic device104. In some example embodiments, the content access information whichis sent from the first electronic device 102 to the second electronicdevice 104 may include the content itself. That is, the first electronicdevice 102 may send the second electronic device 104 the specificcontent which is to be output from the output device 310 associated withthe second electronic device 104. The content may, for example, be sentin the form of one or more files.

In other example embodiments, the first electronic device 102 may notsend the content itself to the second electronic device 104. Instead,the first electronic device 102 may send content access informationwhich includes a reference to the content. The reference allows thesecond electronic device 104 to then retrieve the content. For example,the reference may be a link, pointer, or other identifier which allowsthe second electronic device 104 to identify and retrieve the content.By way of example, in some example embodiments, the reference may be inthe form of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). In at least some exampleembodiments, the reference may be an address which is associated withthe content. That is, the reference may identify a location on storage,such as a memory, which is accessible to the second electronic device104. For example, the reference may identify a location in local memory350 of the second electronic device 104 where the content is stored. Inother example embodiments, the reference may identify a location on aremote server, such as a web server, where the content is stored. Thereference allows the second electronic device 104 to retrieve thecontent so that the second electronic device 104 may output the contentto the output device 310 associated with the second electronic device104. In at least example embodiments, such retrieval may be performedautomatically by the second electronic device 104 in response toreceiving the reference.

The content may be any type of digital content. By way of example, insome example embodiments, the content may be an electronic message, awebpage, an electronic document containing text, audio, video, an image,or an email attachment. In at least some example embodiments, thecontent may be a word processing document such as a Microsoft Word™document. In other example embodiments, the content may be a movie or atelevision show or another type of video. In other example embodiments,the content may be a song or other musical composition or audio basedfile. Other types of content apart from those specifically discussedherein may also be used in other example embodiments.

Accordingly, at 408, the first electronic device 102 may command thesecond electronic device 104 to output content at an output device 310associated with the second electronic device 104. In some exampleembodiments, this command may be a command to display content at adisplay associated with the second electronic device 104 (i.e. theoutput device 310 may include a display). In some example embodiments,this command may include a command to output audio on an audio device,such as a speaker, associated with the second electronic device 104(i.e. the output device 310 may include an audio device).

At 410, the first electronic device 102 may, in response to receiving acommand to output the content at the output device associated with thesecond electronic device 104, adjust a security state on the secondelectronic device 104. In at least example embodiments, the securitystate on the second electronic device 104 may be adjusted automaticallywithout direct instructions to do so from a user. That is, in at leastexample embodiments, the security state on the second electronic device104 may be automatically adjusted as a result of the receipt of acommand on the first electronic device 102 to output content at anoutput device 310 associated with the second device 104.

Accordingly, in at least some example embodiments, at 410, the firstelectronic device 102 may cause the second electronic device 104 totransition from a higher level security state to a lower level securitystate. In at least some example embodiments, 410 may only occur (i.e.the security state of the second electronic device 104 may only beadjusted) if the second electronic device 104 is operating in a higherlevel security state. That is, where the second electronic device 104 isalready operating in a lower level security state, it may be unnecessaryto transition the second electronic device 104 to the lower levelsecurity state. Accordingly, in at least some example embodiments, at410 the first electronic device 102 and/or the second electronic device104 may determine whether the second electronic device 104 is currentlyoperating in a higher level security state and may only adjust thesecurity state of the second electronic device 104 if the secondelectronic device 104 is operating in the higher level security state.

In at least some example embodiments, the higher level security state isa device locked state. The device locked state is a state in which oneor more features of the second electronic device 104 are disabled and inwhich authentication information may be input into the second electronicdevice 104 to transition the second electronic device 104 from thedevice locked state to a lower level security state, which may bereferred to as a device unlocked state. In at least some such exampleembodiments, at 410, the first electronic device 102 causes the secondelectronic device 104 to transition from the device locked state to thedevice unlocked state.

In at least some example embodiments, the first electronic device 102may specifically instruct the second electronic device 104 to transitionto the lower level security state. For example, in some exampleembodiments, the first electronic device 102 may adjust the securitystate on the second electronic device 104 by sending authorizationinformation 277 (of FIG. 2) from the first electronic device 102 to thesecond electronic device 104. The authorization information 277 may besecure information for authorizing the second electronic device 104 toadjust the security state. In at least some example embodiments, theauthorization information may be information which is established when atrusted relationship is created between the first electronic device 102and second electronic device 104. For example, the authorizationinformation may be created during a pairing process, such as the processdescribed below with reference to FIG. 6. In at least some exampleembodiments in which the first electronic device 102 sends authorizationinformation to the second electronic device 104, the second electronicdevice 104 is configured to authenticate the authorization information277. For example, in at least some example embodiments, the secondelectronic device 104 may compare the received authorization information277 with authorization information 377 (of FIG. 3) which is stored onthe second electronic device 104. In at least some example embodiments,the second electronic device 104 may only transition the secondelectronic device 104 to the lower level security state if the receivedauthorization information 277 (of FIG. 2) corresponds to the storedauthorization information 377 (of FIG. 3).

In other example embodiments, the first electronic device 102 may notspecifically instruct the second electronic device 104 to unlock orotherwise transition to a lower level security state. Instead, if apre-existing trusted relationship exists between the first electronicdevice 102 and the second electronic device 104, then the secondelectronic device 104 may automatically transition to the lower levelsecurity state upon receiving the content access information provided at408. That is, the fact that a trusted electronic device has commandedthe second electronic device 104 to output the content at its outputdevice 310 (of FIG. 3) may be interpreted as a command to adjust thesecurity state on a second electronic device 104.

In at least some example embodiments, one or more predeterminedconditions must exist at the first electronic device 102 and/or thesecond electronic device 104 before the method 400 may be performedand/or completed. In such example embodiments, the first electronicdevice 102 and/or the second electronic device 104 may be configured todetermine whether such conditions exist before performing the method.

For example, in some example embodiments, the method 400 may beperformed in response to receipt of content of a predetermined type. Forexample, the method 400 may be performed if content is received whichthe first electronic device 102 determines would be best output to thesecond electronic device 104. For example, where the first electronicdevice 102 is a mobile communication device 201 such as a smartphone,the mobile communication device 201 may determine that video content isbest viewed from an output device associated with the second electronicdevice 104. In such example embodiments, when it is determined thatcontent would be better viewed or otherwise output from an output deviceassociated with the second electronic device 104, then the method 400 ofFIG. 4 may be performed.

Similarly, in another precondition for the method 400 to operate mayrequire that communications between the first electronic device 102 andthe second electronic device 104 be available. For example, the method400 may not operate where communications are not available between thefirst electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 (i.e.since the electronic devices would be unable to exchange data).Accordingly, in at least some example embodiments, the first electronicdevice 102 may determine whether communications with the secondelectronic device 104 are available and may only perform the method 400if it is determined that such communications are currently available.

Similarly, in at least some example embodiments, communications of apredetermined type must be available before the method 400 will beperformed. For example, in order to ensure that the second electronicdevice 104 is not placed into a lower level security state when anunauthorized user may have access to the second electronic device 104without supervision from an authorized user, the method 400 may only beperformed when short range communications are available. That is, themethod 400 may only be performed if the first electronic device 102 andthe second electronic device 104 are in range to communicate over ashort range connection. The short range connection may, for example, bea Wi-Fi connection, a Bluetooth connection and/or a near fieldcommunication (NFC) connection. Other types of short rangecommunications may be used in other example embodiments. Accordingly, inat least some example embodiments, the first electronic device 102 maydetermine if a short range connection to the second electronic device104 is available, and may only perform the method 400 of FIG. 4 if theshort range connection is available. This ensures that the user of thefirst electronic device 102 is likely in the vicinity of the secondelectronic device 104 when the second electronic device 104 istransitioned to the lower level security state.

By way of further example, in some example embodiments, a trustedrelationship between the first electronic device 102 and the secondelectronic device 104 must exist before the method 400 will be performedor before one or more parts of the method 400 will be performed. Forexample, if a trusted relationship does not exist, then the firstelectronic device may not be permitted to adjust the security state ofthe second electronic device 104. That is, if a trusted relationshipdoes not exist, then 410 of FIG. 4 may not be performed. Accordingly, inat least some example embodiments, the first electronic device 102determines if a trusted relationship exists with the second electronicdevice 104. In at least some example embodiments, one or more featuresof the method 400 of FIG. 4 will only be performed if it is determinedthat a trusted relationship exists between the first electronic device102 and the second electronic device 104.

Method of Receiving Distributed Content

Reference will now be made to FIG. 5 which illustrates an example methodof receiving distributed content from a first electronic device 102. Amethod 500 includes features which may be performed by the secondelectronic device 104 (of FIG. 3). More particularly, one or moreapplications or modules associated with the second electronic device104, such as the content sharing module 397 may contain processorreadable instructions for causing a processor associated with the secondelectronic device 104 to perform the method 500 of FIG. 5. That is, inat least some example embodiments, the second electronic device 104 isconfigured to perform the method 500 of FIG. 5. While the method 500 maybe performed by the content sharing module 397 in some exampleembodiments, in other example embodiments, another software applicationor module may be configured to perform the method 500 of FIG. 5. Thatis, any one or more of the features of the method 500 of FIG. 5 may, inat least some example embodiments, be provided by other systems,software applications, devices, or modules apart from those specificallydiscussed herein.

The method 500 for receiving distributed content which is illustrated inFIG. 5 is shown in flowchart form. At 502, the second electronic device104 receives information, sent from a first electronic device 102, foroutputting the content at an output device 310 associated with thesecond electronic device 104. The information includes content accessinformation which identifies, locates, links to, points to, and/ordefines content. Accordingly, the information received at 502 may be theinformation which is sent at 408 of FIG. 4. Thus, the informationreceived at 502 of FIG. 5 may have the features and characteristics ofthe content access information 273 (of FIG. 2) described above withreference to 408 of FIG. 4. For example, the content access informationreceived at 502 may include a reference to the content which is to beoutput on an output device 310 associated with the second electronicdevice 104. The reference may, for example, be a link, pointer, address,or other identifier associated with the content. The reference may allowthe second electronic device 104 to locate, identify, and/or retrievethe content.

As described in greater detail above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4,the content to access information 273 may include the content itself.That is the content access information may define the content which isto be output on an output device 310 associated with the secondelectronic device 104. By way of example, in some example embodiments,the content may be streamed from the first electronic device 102 to thesecond electronic device 104.

At 502, the second electronic device 104 may determine if the receivedinformation is of a predetermined form or type which is associated witha command to output content at an output device 310 associated with thesecond electronic device 104. That is, the second electronic device 104may attempt to determine whether the received information acts as acommand to output content through an output device 310 associated withthe second electronic device 104.

In at least some example embodiments, the information received at 502may also include additional information which may be used by the secondelectronic device 104 to transition the second electronic device 104 toa lower level security state. For example, the information may include acommand to adjust the security state on the second electronic device104. In some example embodiments, the information may includeauthorization information 277. The authorization information is secureinformation for authorizing a second electronic device 104 to adjust thesecurity state.

In at least some example embodiments, in response to receiving theinformation sent from the first electronic device 102, the secondelectronic device 104 may, at 504, adjust a security state on the secondelectronic device 104. In at least some example embodiments, at 504, thesecond electronic device 104 may transition the second electronic device104 from a higher level security state, such as a device locked state,to a lower level security state, such as a device unlocked state. Asnoted previously, a device locked state is a state in which one or morefeatures of the second electronic device 104 are disabled and in whichauthentication information may be input into the second electronicdevice 104 to transition the second electronic device 104 from thedevice locked state to the device unlocked state. Accordingly, in atleast some example embodiments, when the first electronic device 102effectively commands the second electronic device 104 to output contentat an output device 310 associated with the second electronic device 104(i.e. at 502), then the security state of the second electronic device104 may be automatically adjusted if the second electronic device 104 iscurrently operating in a higher level security state. That is, thesecurity state on the second electronic device 104 may be adjustedwithout direct input from a user to do so. For example, when the secondelectronic device 104 is in a device locked state a user may not berequired to input their password or other authentication informationusing an input device associated with the second electronic device 104.Instead, the second electronic device 104 may be automatically unlocked.

In at least some example embodiments, before the security state of thesecond electronic device 104 is adjusted at 504, one or morepredetermined conditions must exist. For example, in at least someexample embodiments, the security state is only adjusted if the secondelectronic device 104 is currently operating in a higher level securitystate. That is, if the second electronic device 104 is currentlyoperating in a lower level security state, then then security state maynot be adjusted. In at least some such example embodiments, prior toadjusting the security state, the second electronic device 104 maydetermine whether the second electronic device 104 is operating in thehigher level security state.

Similarly, in at least some example embodiments, the security state ofthe second electronic device 104 will only be adjusted if theinformation received at 502 was received from an electronic device whichis considered by the second electronic device 104 to be a trustedelectronic device. For example, in some example embodiments, thesecurity state may only be adjusted if the first electronic device 102which sent the information and the second electronic device 104 have apre-existing trusted relationship. In at least some example embodiments,the second electronic device 104 may determine if the electronic devicefrom which the information was received at 502 is a trusted electronicdevice and may only adjust the security state if the electronic deviceis determined to be trusted. That is, if no pre-existing trustedrelationship exists, then the second electronic device 104 may notadjust the security state. More particularly, the security state may beadjusted if the first electronic device 102 and the second electronicdevice 104 have a trusted relationship but may not be adjusted if thefirst electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 do nothave a trusted relationship.

In at least some example embodiments, the first electronic device 102and the second electronic device 104 may only be able to communicate ifthey have a trusted relationship. That is, in at least some exampleembodiments, the fact that the first electronic device 102 was able tocommunicate with the second electronic device 104 (i.e. was able to sendthe information which was received at 502) may be indicative of the factthat a pre-existing trusted relationship exists. That is, the secondelectronic device 104 may determine that the first electronic device 102is a trusted electronic device and is therefore able to adjust thesecurity state of the second electronic device 104 if the firstelectronic device 102 was able to connect to the second electronicdevice 104 to send the information.

In other example embodiments, in order to unlock or otherwise adjust thesecurity state of the second electronic device 104, the first electronicdevice 102 may be required to provide authorization information 277 (ofFIG. 2). The authorization information 277 may, for example, be specialinformation which is used by the first electronic device 102 in order tounlock the second electronic device 104. Accordingly, in at least someexample embodiments, the information received at 502 may include theauthorization information 277. In such example embodiments, beforeadjusting the security state at 504, the second electronic device 104may determine if the received authorization information 277 is valid.That is, the second electronic device 104 may attempt to authenticatethe authorization information 277. By way of example, in at least someexample embodiments, the second electronic device 104 may compare thereceived authorization information 277 to authorization information 377which is stored on the second electronic device 104. If the receivedauthorization information 104 is determined to correspond to the storedauthorization information 377, then the second electronic device 104 maycause the second electronic device 104 to transition to a lower levelsecurity state.

In at least some example embodiments, another precondition which mustexist before the security state of the second electronic device 104 willbe adjusted may require that the first electronic device 102 and thesecond electronic device 104 be communicating over a short rangeconnections. That is, to provide greater security, the second electronicdevice 104 may not switch security states if the first electronic device102 and the second electronic device 104 are connected over a long rangeconnection. By way of example, in at least some example embodiments, thesecond electronic device 104 may transition its security state if it isconnected to the first electronic device 102 via a Wi-Fi connection,and/or a Bluetooth connection, and/or a Near Field Communication (NFC)connection. However, in at least some example embodiments, the securitystate may not be adjusted if the first electronic device 102 isconnected to the second electronic device 104 via a communication methodor protocol which may be a long range connection method. For example, inat least some example embodiments, the security state may not betransitioned to the lower level security state if the electronic devicesare connected over the Internet. By requiring a short range connectionto unlock the second electronic device 104, greater security may beprovided. That is, the use of a short range connection may better ensurethat unauthorized users do not access the second electronic device 104.Accordingly, in at least some example embodiments, prior to adjustingthe security state at 504, the second electronic device 104 maydetermine the type of connection between the first electronic device 102and the second electronic device 104. That is, in at least some exampleembodiments, the second electronic device 104 may attempt to determinewhether the first electronic device 102 is situated in close proximityto the second electronic device and may only adjust the security stateif the electronic devices are determined to be in close proximity to oneanother.

Referring still to FIG. 5, in at least some example embodiments, at 506,the second electronic device 104 may automatically retrieve the content.For example, where the information received at 502 included a referenceto the content (i.e. such as a locator, address, link, pointer or otheridentifier) then the second electronic device 104 may use the referenceto locate, identify, and/or retrieve the content. By way of example, insome example embodiments, the reference may be in the form of a linksuch as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). In such example embodiments,the second electronic device 104 may use the URL to access one or moreremote servers and to retrieve the content. Retrieving the content mayinclude, for example, downloading the content to the second electronicdevice 104 and/or streaming the content to the second electronic device104.

In at least some example embodiments, it may not be necessary at 506 toretrieve the content. For example, in at least some example embodiments,the information which is received at 502 may define the content itself.That is, the first electronic device 102 may send the second electronicdevice 104 the content. Accordingly, in at least some exampleembodiments, 506 may not be performed.

At 508, in response to receiving the information sent from the firstelectronic device 102 at 502, the second electronic device 104 mayoutput the content at an output device 310 associated with the secondelectronic device 104. For example, in at least some exampleembodiments, the second electronic device 104 may display content at adisplay associated with the second electronic device 104. For example,where the content is an electronic document, such as a webpage, or aword processing document, or other document, the document may bedisplayed on a display. Similarly, where the content is an audio file,the content may be output through a speaker. In at least some exampleembodiments, at 508, the content may be output to two or more outputdevices 310. For example, where the content is a video, a visualcomponent of the video may be displayed on a display and an audiblecomponent of the video may be output through a speaker.

The second electronic device 104 may be configured to handle differenttypes of content in different manners. Accordingly, in at least someexample embodiments, the second electronic device 104 may determine thetype of the content before outputting the content at 508. Based on thetype of the content, the second electronic device 104 may determine howto handle the content.

In some example embodiments, prior to outputting the content, the secondelectronic device 104 may launch an application which is equipped tohandle the content. For example, based on the type of the content, thesecond electronic device 104 may open the content in an appropriateapplication. For example, if the content is a video, the secondelectronic device 104 may launch a video player and may open the videoin the video player and begin playback of the video through the videoplayer. Similarly, where the content is audio, the second electronicdevice 104 may launch an audio player and may begin playback of theaudio through an associated audio application.

In at least some example embodiments, one or more predeterminedconditions must exist before the content will be output at 508. In atleast some example embodiments, the content will only output if one ormore of the predetermined conditions discussed above with reference to504 exist. For example, in at least some example embodiments, the firstelectronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 must have atrusted relationship before the content will be output on the secondelectronic device 104. Similarly, in at least some example embodiments,the first electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104must be located in close proximity to one another before the contentwill be output at 508. Accordingly, in at least some exampleembodiments, at 508, the second electronic device 104 may determinewhether one or more predetermined conditions exist and may only outputthe content at the output device 310 if those predetermined conditionsare found to exist.

Example Method of Establishing Trusted Relationship

As noted previously, one or more of the features of the methods 400, 500of FIGS. 4 and 5 may only be performed if the first electronic device102 and the second electronic device 104 have a pre-existing trustedrelationship. That is, if no trusted relationship exists between thefirst electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104, thenone or more of the features of the methods 400, 500 of FIG. 4 and/orFIG. 5 may not be performed. For example, in at least some exampleembodiments, the security state of the second electronic device 104 maynot be adjusted by the first electronic device 102 unless a pre-existingtrusted relationship exists between the first electronic device 102 andthe second electronic device 104. Thus, in at least some exampleembodiments, the first electronic device 102 and the second electronicdevice 104 are configured to allow trusted relationships to beestablished with other electronic devices.

Reference will now be made to FIG. 6 which illustrates an example method600 for establishing a trusted relationship between a first electronicdevice 102 and second electronic device 104. The method 600 includesfeatures which may be performed by one or more electronic devices. Thatis, the first electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104may collectively perform the method 600. Accordingly, the method 600 maybe performed by each of the first electronic device 102 and the secondelectronic device 104 in order to establish a trusted relationshipbetween those electronic devices. One or more applications or modules,such as the pairing module 298, 398 of the first electronic device 102and the second electronic device 104 may contain processor readableinstructions for causing a processor associated with the firstelectronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 to performthe method 600 of FIG. 6. Any one or more of the features of the method600 of FIG. 6 may, in at least some example embodiments, be provided byother systems, software applications, devices, or modules apart fromthose specifically discussed herein.

First at 602, communications are established between the firstelectronic device 102 and second electronic device 104. Thecommunication permits the first electronic device 102 and the secondelectronic device 104 to exchange data. By way of example, in at leastsome example embodiments, the communications may be Bluetoothcommunications or of another type of short range technology. By way offurther example, in other example embodiments, the communications may beWi-Fi communications. It will be appreciated that the communications maybe of a form not specifically mentioned herein.

At 604, user input may be received at the first electronic device 102and also at the second electronic device 104. The user input which isreceived authorizes the creation of a trusted relationship between theelectronic devices. That is, users of both electronic devices may, insome manner, be required to confirm that they would like a trustedrelationship to exist between the electronic devices.

At 606, after the creation of a trusted relationship has beenauthorized, a trusted relationship may be created between the firstelectronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104. In at leastsome example embodiments, at 606, trusted relationship information 275,375 may be stored on one or both of the electronic devices. The trustedrelationship information tracks the relationship between the firstelectronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 and allowsthe electronic devices to subsequently remember the trusted nature oftheir relationship. That is, once the trusted relationship isestablished it may be remembered so that it may not need to beestablished again in the future between those same devices. The trustedrelationship information may, for example, include identificationinformation which allows the electronic devices to identify one another.

In at least some example embodiments, authorization information 277, 377may also be created as part of the method 600 of FIG. 6. Theauthorization information 277 may be used by the electronic devices whenhighly secure commands are sent from one electronic device to anotherelectronic device. For example, in at least some example embodiments,when the first electronic device 102 wishes to unlock or otherwisetransition a security state on the second electronic device 104 then thefirst electronic device 102 may be required to provide the authorizationinformation 277 to the second electronic device 104. The secondelectronic device 104 may use its own authorization information 377 toauthenticate the received authorization information 277.

While the example embodiment discussed with reference to FIG. 6 requiresuser input on both electronic devices to establish the trustedrelationship, in at least some example embodiments, a trustedrelationship may be established through input on only the secondelectronic device 104. For example, if a user of the second electronicdevice 104 instructs the second electronic device 104 to acceptinstructions and commands from the first electronic device 102 and tomake the first electronic device 102 a trusted electronic device, thenthe first electronic device 102 may become a trusted device for thesecond electronic device 104 and may be permitted to adjust the securitystate on the second electronic device 104.

Method for Distributing Content to a Second Electronic Device

Reference will now be made to FIG. 7 which illustrates an example method700 for distributing content to a second electronic device 104. Themethod 700 is illustrated in flowchart form. The method 700 includesfeatures which may be performed by the first electronic device 102. Moreparticularly, one or more applications or module, such as the contentsharing module 297 may contain processor readable instructions forcausing a processor associated with the first electronic device 102 toperform the method 700 of FIG. 7. Any one or more of the features of themethod 700 may, in at least some example embodiments, be provided byother systems, software applications, devices, or modules apart fromthose specifically discussed herein.

The method 700 includes a number of features which are discussed abovewith reference to FIG. 4.

At 702, the first electronic device 102 determines whether an option tooutput content at the second electronic device 104 should be provided.More particularly, the first electronic device 102 may determine, basedon one or more predetermined rules, whether such as option should beprovided. That is, one or more predetermined rules are used to determinewhether a user should be permitted to input an instruction to the firstelectronic device 102 to output content at an output device 310associated with a second electronic device 104.

In at least some example embodiments, one of the predetermined rules mayspecify one or more content types which are either suitable or notsuitable for being an output to the second electronic device 104. By wayof example, the predetermined rules may take the form of a white list. Awhite list, which may also be referred to as an approved list, is a listof content types which are being provided with a particular privilege.In this case, the white list specifies types of content which aresuitable and/or preferred for outputting on an output device 310associated with the second electronic device 104. For example, the whitelist may specify content types which the second electronic device 104 isequipped to handle. For example, the white list may specify contenttypes which have an associated application on the second electronicdevice 104. Accordingly, in at least some example embodiments, at 702,the first electronic device 102 may determine the content type ofcontent and may determine whether the option to output content at anoutput device 310 associated with the second electronic device 104should be provided based on the content type of the content and the oneor more content types specified by the predetermined rules (for example,the content types in the white list).

In other example embodiments, the one or more predetermined rules maytake the form of a black list. The black list may specify one or morecontent type which are not suited for output to the second electronicdevice 104. That is, the black list may specify one or more contenttypes for which an option to output the content at the second electronicdevice 104 should not be provided. In such example embodiments, at 702,the first electronic device 102 may determine the content type of thecontent and may determine whether that content type is a type which isincluded in the black list. If so, then the option to output content atthe second electronic device 104 may not be provided.

Similarly, in at least some example embodiments, one or more of thepredetermined rules which are used in order to determine whether theoption to output content at the second electronic device 104 should beprovided may specify that the option should only be presented if thefirst electronic device 102 and second electronic device 104 are inrange to communicate over a short range connection. For example, inorder to ensure that an unauthorized user does not gain access to thesecond electronic device 104, the option may only be presented on thefirst electronic device 102 if the first electronic device 102 and thesecond electronic device 104 are in close proximity to one another. Thefirst electronic device 102 and the second electronic device 104 may bedetermined to be in close proximity to one another if a short rangecommunication connection is available between them. Accordingly, in atleast some example embodiments, at 702, the first electronic device 102may determine whether one or more predetermined connection types areavailable and may only determine that an option to output content at thesecond electronic device 104 should be presented if such a connection isavailable.

Similarly, in at least some example embodiments, a predetermined rulewhich is used at 702 to determine whether an option to output thecontent the second electronic device 104 should be provided may requirethat the first electronic device 102 be able to communicate with thesecond electronic device 104. That is, if no communications areavailable between the first electronic device 102 and the secondelectronic device 104, then the first electronic device 102 maydetermine that the option to output content at the second electronicdevice 104 should not be provided.

If, at 702, the first electronic device 102 determines that the optionto output content at the second electronic device 104 should be providedthen, at 704, the first electronic device 102 may not display aselectable option to output the content at the second electronic device104. Instead, if it is determined that the option to output content atthe second electronic device 104 should not be provided, then the firstelectronic device 102 may perform another function. For example, in atleast some example embodiments, the first electronic device 102 mayautomatically output the content at an output device associated with thefirst electronic device 102. In other example embodiments, the firstelectronic device 102 may provide a user with a selectable option tooutput the content at an output device associated with the firstelectronic device 102. That is, a user may be permitted to display orotherwise output the content locally using one or more output interfacesassociated with the first electronic device 102.

If, however, the first electronic device 102 determines that an optionto output content at the second electronic device 104 should beprovided, then at 706 the first electronic device 102 may display one ormore selectable viewing options on the first electronic device 102. Thatis, one or more selectable content viewing options may be displayed on adisplay associated with the first electronic device 102. The one or moreselectable content viewing options may include a selectable option tooutput the content at an output device associated with the secondelectronic device 104. The selectable option may, for example, be abutton, link, or other interface element which a user may select byinteracting with an input device associated with the first electronicdevice 102. The selectable option to output the content at an outputdevice associated with the second electronic device 104 may be used by auser to command the first electronic device 102 to output content at anoutput device associated with the second electronic device 104.

The selectable option to output the content at an output deviceassociated with the second electronic device 104 may be displayed, at706, together with a selectable option to output the content at anoutput device associated with the first electronic device (e.g. thedisplay 204 (of FIG. 2)).

After the selectable options are displayed at 706, the features of FIG.4 may be performed. That is, following 706, the method 400 of FIG. 4 maybe performed. The functions and features of the method 400 of FIG. 4 aredescribed in greater detail above. Accordingly, features 404, 406, 408and 410 of FIG. 7 may function in the manner described above withreference to FIG. 4.

While the present application is primarily described in terms ofmethods, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that thepresent application is also directed to various apparatus such as ahandheld electronic device and a server. The handheld electronic deviceand the server includes components for performing at least some of theexample aspects and features of the described methods, be it by way ofhardware components (such as the memory and/or the processor), softwareor any combination of the two, or in any other manner. Moreover, anarticle of manufacture for use with the apparatus, such as apre-recorded storage device or other similar computer readable mediumincluding program instructions recorded thereon, or a computer datasignal carrying computer readable program instructions may direct anapparatus to facilitate the practice of the described methods. It isunderstood that such apparatus, articles of manufacture, and computerdata signals also come within the scope of the present application.

The term “computer readable medium” as used herein means any mediumwhich can store instructions for use by or execution by a computer orother computing device including, but not limited to, a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk drive (HDD), a random access memory(RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable-read-onlymemory (EPROM) or flash memory, an optical disc such as a Compact Disc(CD), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) or Blu-ray™ Disc, and a solid statestorage device (e.g., NAND flash or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM)).

Example embodiments of the present application are not limited to anyparticular operating system, system architecture, mobile devicearchitecture, server architecture, or computer programming language.

The various embodiments presented above are merely examples and are inno way meant to limit the scope of this application. Variations of theinnovations described herein will be apparent to persons of ordinaryskill in the art, such variations being within the intended scope of thepresent application. In particular, features from one or more of theabove-described example embodiments may be selected to createalternative example embodiments including a sub-combination of featureswhich may not be explicitly described above. In addition, features fromone or more of the above-described example embodiments may be selectedand combined to create alternative example embodiments including acombination of features which may not be explicitly described above.Features suitable for such combinations and sub-combinations would bereadily apparent to persons skilled in the art upon review of thepresent application as a whole. The subject matter described herein andin the recited claims intends to cover and embrace all suitable changesin technology.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by one or more processors, themethod comprising: providing content access information for accessingcontent from a first electronic device to a second electronic device;and sending authorization information from the first electronic deviceto the second electronic device, the authorization information beingsecure information for authorizing the second electronic device toadjust a security state on the second electronic device.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein adjusting the security state on the secondelectronic device comprises: causing the second electronic device totransition from a higher level security state to a lower level securitystate.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the higher level security stateis a locked state and the lower level security state is an unlockedstate, and wherein the locked state is a state in which one or morefeatures of the second electronic device are disabled and in whichauthentication information may be input into the second electronicdevice to transition the second electronic device from the locked stateto the unlocked state.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:establishing a trusted relationship between a first electronic deviceand a second electronic device.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: establishing the trusted relationship in response toreceiving input on the first electronic device and on the secondelectronic device, the input instructing the first electronic device andthe second electronic device to establish the trusted relationship. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the content access information comprisesa reference to the content which allows the second electronic device toretrieve the content.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the contentaccess information comprises the content to be output on an outputdevice associated with the second electronic device.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising: receiving a command on the first electronicdevice to output the content on the output device associated with thesecond electronic device, wherein the content access information isprovided from the first electronic device to the second electronicdevice in response to receiving the command to output content at theoutput device associated with the second electronic device.
 9. Themethod of claim 8 wherein the command is received on the firstelectronic device via a user interface of the first electronic device.10. The method of claim 8, further comprising, prior to receiving thecommand to display content at the second electronic device: displayingone or more selectable content viewing options on the first electronicdevice including a selectable option to output the content at the outputdevice associated with the second electronic device.
 11. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium comprisingprocessor-executable instructions which, when executed, configure aprocessor to: provide content access information for accessing contentfrom a first electronic device to a second electronic device; and sendauthorization information from the first electronic device to the secondelectronic device, the authorization information being secureinformation for authorizing the second electronic device to adjust asecurity state on the second electronic device.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein adjusting asecurity state on the second electronic device comprises: causing thesecond electronic device to transition from a higher level securitystate to a lower level security state.
 13. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the higher level securitystate is a locked state and the lower level security state is anunlocked state, and wherein the locked state is a state in which one ormore features of the second electronic device are disabled and in whichauthentication information may be input into the second electronicdevice to transition the second electronic device from the locked stateto the unlocked state.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 11, wherein the processor-executable instructions which,when executed, further configure the processor to: establish a trustedrelationship between a first electronic device and a second electronicdevice.
 15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim14, where the processor-executable instructions which, when executed,further configure the processor to: establish the trusted relationshipin response to receiving input on the first electronic device and on thesecond electronic device, the input instructing the first electronicdevice and the second electronic device to establish the trustedrelationship.
 16. A first electronic device comprising: a communicationsubsystem for communicating with a second electronic device; one or moreprocessors; and a memory containing processor readable instructions forcausing the one or more processors to: provide content accessinformation for accessing content from a first electronic device to asecond electronic device; and send authorization information from thefirst electronic device to the second electronic device, theauthorization information being secure information for authorizing thesecond electronic device to adjust a security state on the secondelectronic device.
 17. The first electronic device of claim 16, whereinadjusting a security state on the second electronic device comprises:causing the second electronic device to transition from a higher levelsecurity state to a lower level security state.
 18. The first electronicdevice of claim 16, wherein adjusting a security state on the secondelectronic device comprises: causing the second electronic device totransition from a higher level security state to a lower level securitystate.
 19. The first electronic device of claim 18, wherein the higherlevel security state is a locked state and the lower level securitystate is an unlocked state, and wherein the locked state is a state inwhich one or more features of the second electronic device are disabledand in which authentication information may be input into the secondelectronic device to transition the second electronic device from thelocked state to the unlocked state.
 20. The first electronic device ofclaim 16, wherein the processor readable instructions are further forcausing the one or more processors to: establish a trusted relationshipbetween a first electronic device and a second electronic device.